Combating Financial Anxiety: Part 2

Back in February my Credit score went up 83 points! I had been practicing some trick that I found online, through advice from others , and i stumbled across on my own.  Withing 60 days I went up a whole 100 points! I want to start off by saying I am not a financial adviser and cannot be held accountable if these tricks don’t work for you. But they did wonders for me. 

Things I’ve been doing to increase my credit:1. Making a bunch of small payments back to back on my card ( a banker gave me this tip). Ex: balance is $300 , you want to put $100 on it this month. Do 4 payments of $25 each, spread across 4 weeks.
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2. Never use more than 30% of your credit line at once.

3. Don’t get store cards unless you really shop at that store a whole lot. It’s better to have a discover, 2 visas and a capital one card instead of a Target, Macy’s, Victoria secret and then 1 Visa card. 

4a. Track your progress! I use apps like Credit Karma to track my open accounts and credit score. 
4b. Another app I use is Clarity money. It lets you know where the heck your money is going to. Because it’s those small payments of $5 for this subscription and $2.99 for that subscription that ADDD UP. Be mindful of your $$ use this link to sign up and we both get $3 https://link.clarity.com/r1MOqwyPf  💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

5. Get a secure credit card if you can’t get a regular one. A secure credit card is when you pay upfront what your credit limit will be. Ex: you want a $600 credit line. You pay $600 first. Don’t mistake this for a debit card even though you put the money there you still have to pay it back monthly. Usually after a year that bank will re-evaluate you and then decide if they want to give you a regular credit card (p.s they refund you that amount you put down in the first place) 

6. USE YOUR CREDIT CARD yes it’s tedious like that. If you have cards and not using them that’s just as bad as using them in full and not paying them. This is why it’s better to get a Visa or MasterCard etc instead of a store card.  Have to buy groceries- credit card… going movies- credit card . Getting your hair done – credit card. 

7. Be mindful about #6. Try to make sure you have the money or atleast 50% of the money to pay for what ever you just bought on the credit card. This way you use the card but then you come home and set up a payment from your account to pay off what you used on the card. 

8. Remember when your bill is due. I have a monthly calendar invite on my phone telling me know when every bill is due. Rent, cable, phone, electric, credit cards etc. because there is nothing more annoying and makes you feel like not paying a bill is when you have to pay a $30+ late fee on top of paying the owed balance.

Hope this helps you to repair your credit. What other tips do you use to improve your credit?